£1.5 billion revamp of London’s Liverpool St station planned
New plans for a £1.5 billion redevelopment of London’s Liverpool Street Station are being submitted for planning application. Developer Sellar and Network Rail plan to demolish and replace the 1991 concourse, adding two mixed-use towers connected by a two-storey podium open to the public.
Architects Herzon & de Meuron, who designed Tate Modern and the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium in Bejing, unveiled their latest plans for the station, after much criticism of the ones presented last year. The new plans involve the demolition of part of the existing roofs and other modern extension, but would preserve and restore the original Victorian train shed.
The two towers, one 15 and one 21 storeys high, would help fund the £1.5 billion upgrade, Sellar said. The new plans will also include a new 17,000 sqm Andaz hotel and 78,000 sqm of office space and create one the largest green roofs in the City of London. Sellar was the developer behind the iconic Shard on the South bank of the Thames.
“The upgrades to Liverpool Street station are vitally needed to maintain London’s status as a world class city and encourage people to travel back to work by significantly improving the experience for the station’s million of users,” said James Sellar, CEO, Sellar.
In January Historic England decided to list Liverpool Street Station and other station additions in the Victorian style designed by Nick Derbyshire, British Rail’s last chief architect, in the 1980s.
Heritage campaigners have already criticised the plans and asked Michael Gove, Housing & Communities Secretary, to reject them as their approval would “set a terrible precedent” for the treatment of listed buildings in conservation areas.
“Our entire approach prioritises protecting and enhancing the historic elements of the station,” said Sellar. “The original Victorian railway sheds at Liverpool Street station will not be touched but will be celebrated by opening up new views to and through them.”
A spokesman for the City of London said they could not comment on application proposals but that “any proposed scheme at Liverpool Street would be expected to comply with the Carbon Options Guidance planning advice note, which asks developers to consider alternatives to demolition from the earliest stages of the planning process, informed by detailed assessments of the carbon impact of different development options.”